Do my Clients Want a Tech-Enabled Accountant?

Enter the age of the tech-enabled accountant.

An advisor of cutting edge solutions. A strategic partner for business-building initiatives.

The SMB and accounting tech ecosystems are booming, to say the least. Even experts in the field struggle to keep up at times, so it’s not surprising that small business owners lack the time to take into account all of the solutions out there, much less to put them into place.

Given that you’re a trusted advisor entrenched in the financial well-being of your clients, it’s a logical conclusion that this responsibility would fall into your hands.

There’s a long-held perception (or stereotype, perhaps) about the accounting industry — one which involves massive physical ledgers, stacks and stacks of paper, calculators, filing cabinets, a sea of manual data entry, and constant questions about how to code charges on a company credit card. While some of these are still in play, the profession as a whole finds itself in a unique position.

It’s evolving, and in a big way. The days of stoic bean counting alone are on the way out, and have been replaced with heightened expectations and more opportunity within engagements.

That’s cool. That’s sexy. For some it may be a challenge to connect the dots between tech solutions and practice growth, but the relationship is very real and quite direct. If you fall into that camp, step back and ask yourself if you can find internal and external opportunities to:

Integrate software solutions

Streamline and centralize processes (e.g. bill payments)

Decrease turnaround times

Increase internal efficiencies

Increase data accuracy

Migrate to cloud solutions

Enhance data security and integrity

Train your staff or clients on the tools they already use

Improve client satisfaction and retention

Shift away from billable hour pricing models

Migrate to high-value services

Chances are you checked the box to at least one of these, but how does technology come into play? And is this something that your clients actually want?

Client Expectations

You’re an accountant. You do accounting. You keep books clean and file client tax returns, right? Not so fast. SMBs are becoming increasingly reliant on technology to manage and grow their own businesses, and their expectations of you follow suit. In fact, 60% of small businesses attribute increased revenue to technology, and another 60% feel that technology allows them to compete with larger companies (Source: Office.com).

Sure, you’ll still find yourself doing the accounting essentials for your clients – tax returns, audits, payroll, etc. But businesses are increasingly looking for their accountant to extend their services into the realm of tech.

Not only does it benefit you to take advantage of this opportunity, but it also may not be a choice in the future. Young accountants and current accounting students are pushing the industry in this direction, and will bring with them the skills of digital natives. This means that your firm will need to up its game to remain competitive and relevant.

University curricula are adopting technology as a core educational competency, and with the arrival of credentials such as the CITP, not only do current practitioners need to be mindful of the upcoming professionals, but also shift focus to attracting such talent to their firms.

If you’re still skeptical, you may be surprised to learn that according to an Accounting.org study, Information Technology Accountant has the 3rd highest median salary in the accounting industry, behind only corporate controllers and accounting professors. You can bet that those studying accounting and have a knack for technology will flock to such lucrative sub-disciplines.

According to AccounTemps, CFOs rank information technology as the 2nd most desirable attribute for potential accounting and finance hires, so it’s a safe assumption that ambitious graduates will bring spades of this to the interview table when they enter the workforce.

Wes is the VP of Marketing at Circulus, and when not geeking out on marketing and tech, he's geeking out on video games, sports, craft beer, music, culinary, and his 2 husky compadres, Stevie Nicks and David Bowie.